The habitability of terrestrial exoplanets orbiting M dwarfs is a key topic in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Gaia – Planetary Perspectives
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Plant Biology, Press Release
How Proteins Crucial To Photosynthesis On Earth Are Arranged
Research led by scientists at Washington State University has revealed insights on how plants form a microscopic landscape of proteins crucial to photosynthesis, the basis of Earth’s food and energy […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Editorial: Life Under Pressure: Microbial Adaptation And Survival In High Pressure Environments
A quantitative overview of Earth’s biomass has long been lacking, despite its importance for understanding the biosphere. The first global estimate—approximately 550 gigatons of carbon (Gt C)—reveals stark disparities across […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Global Abiotic Sulfur Cycling on Earth-like Terrestrial Planets
Sulfur is a redox active element that may have helped mediate an electron flow that kickstarted life and which presently is an essential element for all life on Earth. Despite […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Recent Microbial Evolutionary Insights From Metagenomics
Microorganisms have profoundly shaped Earth’s biological and geological history, from the origins of oxygenic photosynthesis to present-day global biogeochemical cycles.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Study Reveals Asynchronous Land–ocean Responses To Ancient Ocean Anoxia
Earth experienced a period of intense, large-scale volcanism during the early Aptian. Around that time, it also experienced widespread ocean deoxygenation during the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a) as well […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Modelling The Long-term Impacts Of Artificial Warming On The Martian Water Cycle And Surface Ice Distribution
Recent papers by Ansari et al. (2024, Science Advances 10, eadn4650) and Richardson et al. (2025, arXiv eprint 2504.01455) have suggested that global warming of the Martian surface (‘terraforming’) by […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Energy Deposition By Galactic Cosmic Rays And Implications For Ozone Chemistry
We present a Monte Carlo study of galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) energy deposition and its implications for stratospheric chemistry, performed with the Geant4 toolkit.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Intelligence & Language, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
How Common Are Oxygenic Photosynthesis And Large Coal Deposits On Exoplanets?
In the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), it is often assumed that intelligent life on an Earth-like exoplanet would inevitably develop the technological means for interstellar communication. This assumption ignores […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Status Report
Upper Atmosphere Dynamics And Drivers Of Volatiles Loss From Terrestrial-type (exo)Planets
Volatile loss from exoplanetary atmospheres and its possible implications for the longevity of habitable surface conditions is a topic of vigorous debate currently.